Galen Clarke

I’m a multimedia journalist with a love for storytelling. I just finished shooting a long-term project about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. I consider finishing the 2,181-mile-long trail to be one of my greatest personal accomplishments and I met some wonderful people along the way. Before all that, I was lucky to be with The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi shortly after its launch. I spent over two-and-a-half years as a photojournalist there getting to know a country, a region and a culture in a very unique way. I’m a Tar Heel, I love being outdoors, I try to stay active and am always interested in meeting new people.

You really hit the ground running in this workshop and learning starts right away. Even just the process of finding a story before arriving gives insight into what drives the work at MediaStorm and how they approach storytelling. The instruction spoke right to my experience level and covers topics ranging from technical skills to what makes a great story and how to tell it effectively.

Not only was it a great chance to learn from the guys at MediaStorm but also from my teammates and fellow workshop participants. We had a diverse group and everyone brought different skills to the table. In the end, we have a product that I think we are all proud of and everyone went home with new skills.

For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It’s the embodiment of his family. As a third generation seltzer man, he follows the same route as his grandfather. But after 90 years of business, Walter may be the last seltzer man.